Washington, June 27 (IANS) Adolescents who develop disordered eating behaviours carry these unhealthy practices into young adulthood and beyond, a study said.

Disordered eating comprises unhealthy and extreme weight control behaviours, including binge eating.

"The findings from the current study argue for early and ongoing efforts aimed at the prevention and early treatment of disordered eating behaviours in young people," says lead investigator Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, professor in epidemiology at the University of Minnesota.

Given the growing concern about obesity, it is important to let young people know that dieting and disordered eating behaviours can be counterproductive to weight management, according to the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Investigators from the varsity's School of Public Health examined the records of 1,030 young men and 1,257 young women, according to a Minnesota statement.

One-third of participants were in early adolescence (mean age 12.8 years) at the beginning of the study and were in early young adulthood (mean age 23.2 years) at the 10-year follow-up.

Two-thirds of participants were in middle adolescence (mean age 15.9 years) at the beginning and were in middle young adulthood (mean age 26.2 years) after 10 years.

Subjects were asked about dieting, extreme weight control behaviours such as fasting, using food substitutes and skipping meals, and binge eating with loss of control.

About half of the females reported dieting in the past year compared to about a fourth of the males. The prevalence of dieting remained fairly constant from adolescence through young adulthood for females in both age groups.

In the younger females, unhealthy weight control behaviours remained constant from early adolescence to early young adulthood.